Credit: The Associated Press

LONDON — Wayne Rooney scored for the first time in two months with a strike of the quality that justifies his lucrative new Manchester United contract as the floundering English Premier League champions won 2-0 at Crystal Palace on Saturday.

The striker volleyed in United's second, shortly after Robin Van Persie's second-half penalty, a day after ending the uncertainty over his United future by signing a new deal that could earn him more than $140 million until 2019.